Sometimes, despite over 23 years working on instruments, I see something weird. And this one is bizarre. Notice anything weird? The clues were there, had I thought about them. The guitar was brought in by the son of its original owner. The action wasn’t terribly high, but we agreed a neck reset would improve the […]
Neck Reset on 1954 Gibson Southerner Jumbo Read More »
A friend has asked me to help find homes for some banjos. A lot of banjos. A whole lot of banjos. Like, dozens of banjos. From the estate of a violin luthier is Southwest Kansas, one who apparently also had a fondness for 1920s tenor banjos. We have only scratched the surface, and will no
Amazing Estate Find: Vintage Tenor Banjos and Parts Read More »
I often get asked to replace old sets of tuners that have crumbling or missing buttons. And I guess over the years lots of folks did just throw these old sets away, as evidenced by the large number of vintage guitars I’ve seen that had brand new sets of Kluson, Grover, or Gotoh tuners on
Replacing Tuner Buttons to Bring New Life to Vintage Kluson Tuners Read More »
On the bench today is yet another Gibson with one of those clumsy molded plastic bridges. Some executive…who clearly was not a guitar player and VERY CLEARLY did not understand the legacy of this great brand…thought this would speed up production and cut costs. At least that’s the theory. I don’t know… Some people really
Making New Bridge to Replace Plastic Bridge on 1960s Gibson B-25 Read More »
1957 Danelectro U2 with “Faux Ostrich” covering over Masonite body. Been in same family since at least 1962! Plays and sounds fantastic, and gets a 9.9 for coolness. I’ve only seen a few of these with this textured vinyl covering…and never in person! There have been a couple “faux ostrich” U1 (single pickup) models on
Baby Boomer’s Dream! Rare “Faux Ostrich” Leatherette 1957 Danelectro U2. Read More »
Model: 1968 Kustom K200 made in Chanute, KS. This 1968 Kustom K200 is not an original, but it is a darn cool guitar with a lot of mojo. Gretsch Filtertron pickups give it a jangly, Rickenbacker-esque sound. Originally had a Bigsby vibrato. When I got this piece, all that was there was the neck and
Beautiful 1968 Kustom K200 made in Chanute, KS Read More »
Model: Harmony Silvertone 1217, circa 1970. Recently, another very clean Harmony-made Silvertone 1217, ca. 1970, came into the shop with an unreadable date code. This piece was made for Sears, but the “splitting atom” SR hologram headstock sticker is missing. The guitar also misses the pickguard, but that shows more of its lovely sunburst top.
Harmony Silvertone 1217 Neck Reset Read More »
Model: Silvertone 3/4, circa 1960 This is my little Silvertone 3/4, ca. 1960, for which I, unfortunately, cannot recall the model number. This piece came with a cheap little hardwood bridge, string through, and a fret wire saddle, and it had terrible intonation when I first got it. I recently received a request from a
Silvertone 3/4, circa 1960 Amazing Restoration Read More »
Check out this late 19th century guitar by C.F. Bauer in Mannheim, Germany. Model: C.F. Bauer, late 19th century I did some research and found a little info on the maker, who did work as an apprentice at Stauffer’s workshop in Vienna around the time a young C.F. Martin was there! Unfortunately, I cannot date
19th Century Guitar by C.F. Bauer Read More »
Model: Gibson Banner J-45, FON 2149-40. Circa 1943-45 Supply shortages during World War II forced manufacturers to scavenge for materials. This Gibson Banner J-45 guitar is an excellent example. This piece has a poplar neck and tail block lacks a truss rod and has an enormous 1 23/32” wide neck. While the fingerboard is Brazilian
Gibson Banner J-45, 80 Year Old Guitar, Amazing Bridge Repair Read More »
